Sonic and Sarasvati, 2024. Acrylic and pigmented pen on canvas, 60 x 40 cm | 23 3/5 x 15 3/4 in (each)
To fabulate, to narrate in another way, is not to break with “reality”, but to try to make perceptible, to make people think and feel aspects of that reality that are usually considered accessories.1
When I was invited, at the end of 2023, to curate the exhibition Corpos Luminosos (Luminous Bodies), a solo show by Marina Caverzan – with the participation of works by the artist Artur Lescher – the depth of the references and the complexity of the adventure that would follow were not obvious. The show incorporates The Resplendent World, by Margaret Cavendish, as one of the matrices of her journey. This 17th century text, a precursor to science fiction, presents a world inhabited by creatures that question the foundations of knowledge, dissolving the boundaries between philosophy, science and imagination. The idea of “luminous bodies” emerges in the book not as a compliment to illumination, but as a metaphor for the attempt to expand the ways in which we apprehend reality.
Marina Caverzan is an artist who inhabits territories that deny a rigid separation between the rational and the mystical. Her work proposes relationships with fields such as alchemy, mathematics and spiritual rituals, not just to cite references, but to suggest that art can be a space for experimentation in which multiple layers of reality coexist. In this sense, Marina is part of a lineage of artists who use abstraction to create a language that moves between the visible and the occult, the rational and the intuitive.
In the first room of the exhibition, called Nave, the confluence of knowledge manifests itself with particular intensity. Inspired by the Tantra Songs, the room is conceived as a space for crossing, in which the public is invited to experiment with geometry and color as tools for accessing transformative states of perception. The Tantra Songs, a collection of tantric paintings originating in Rajasthan, were developed from the 17th century onwards and designed for meditative practices and spiritual rituals. In these sacred paintings, geometric shapes such as circles, triangles and squares are used for much more than representing static figures; they function as devices that aim to activate heightened states of consciousness and connect the viewer with spiritual dimensions that transcend the material plane.
Standing in front of the Tantra Songs is like experiencing a “visual music” that echoes in the shapes and colors. In Caverzan’s paintings, this vibratory quality is incorporated and transformed into a sensory experience. The works function as instruments that modulate perception, creating an experience that involves body and spirit, in which geometry becomes pulsation and rhythm: Marina rescues a spiritual dimension often neglected in modern Western abstraction, crossing geometric precision with symbolic emanation. Her repetitive patterns function as visual mantras, in which repetition creates rhythms that induce introspection.
The choice of the term “nave” for the first room reinforces this notion of crossing and elevation. The word alludes both to church architecture – where the nave is the space of passage to the sacred – and to the idea of displacement to other states of being, like a spaceship that transports the individual beyond the boundaries of everyday perception. The arrangement of the works in the Nave is not arbitrary either; she seeks to create an environment in which abstraction functions as an energetic diagram, which invites the public to access another quality of presence.
In the Nave, the artist’s works bear titles that make direct reference to both Indian spiritual traditions and video game characters, creating an interesting tension between the sacred and pop culture. The titles evoke important Hindu deities such as Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Nataraja, each with specific attributes that refer to knowledge, prosperity and the cycle of creation and destruction. At the same time, these references are combined with video game characters such as Sonic and Amy Rose, establishing a bridge between the spiritual and the everyday, the elevated and the playful.
To mention a few of the works on display, I would like to highlight Sarasvati | Sonic. The first work is associated with the fluidity and wisdom of Sarasvati, goddess of knowledge and the arts. The pairing with Sonic, a fast and energetic character, suggests a fusion between the speed of the contemporary world and spiritual contemplation. In Lakshmi, the work evokes the goddess of prosperity with shades of pink, yellow and green, conveying the idea of abundance and expansion, while the repetition of geometric patterns alludes to the multiplicity of manifestations of wealth. Finally, in Amy Rose | Nataraja, the video game character is associated with Nataraja, a form of the god Shiva as a cosmic dancer. Shiva’s dance represents the creation and destruction of the universe, and Amy Rose’s presence suggests that these cyclical and transformative forces are not confined to the sacred, but also permeate mass culture and everyday life. These works, with their vibrant colors and compositions that tend towards the idea of movement, reflect the dynamics of the cosmic dance.
The choice to combine spiritual traditions with video game characters is not just a matter of contrast, but shows an attempt to break down traditional hierarchies of cultural value, suggesting that the sacred can be found in multiple contexts and that the boundaries between the spiritual and the popular are porous. Marina does not treat these references ironically; on the contrary, she explores the coexistence of these realities.
In addition to these painting projects, the Nave houses the sculpture Observatório, by Artur Lescher. The artist, whose work is in the center of this first room, was Marina’s teacher. The work was chosen because it presents the contrast between solidity and movement, exploring the idea of passage. The use of granite, a rock formed over millions of years, combined with modern sculpting techniques, reflects Lescher’s practice of integrating durable materials with elements of transience. In the Nave, Observatório functions as a kind of anchor that paradoxically points beyond itself, suggesting a line that crosses the space and expands the perception of the environment.
The next room in the show functions as a tenebrarium, inspired by the candelabra used in Christian ceremonies, in which the light is gradually reduced to create an atmosphere of darkness and introspection. In this space, the limited lighting establishes a contemplative atmosphere in which the artist’s studies are displayed.
In the tenebrarium, the artist draws in space with light: she presents the new installation Kaminoans, made up of luminous silicone and LED shapes. The title alludes to the Kaminoans, a fictional race from the Star Wars universe, characterized by their slender and graceful appearance, inhabitants of an aquatic planet with futuristic architecture. The lines of light, in constant movement, create a sense of continuous transformation, evoking the fluidity of water and the modernity of futuristic environments, while also suggesting an almost liquid and ethereal materiality.
The exhibition also includes a new resin sculpture in which the artist explores the relationship between translucency and opacity. Calypso captures light to generate shadows and reflections that amplify the sensation of depth, suggesting an ethereal dimension. In space, it is juxtaposed with Osiris, a painting made with luminescent paint. The titles of both evoke stories linked to the transition between night and day, life and death. Calypso, in Greek mythology, is a nymph associated with mystery and enchantment, while Osiris, the Egyptian god of death and resurrection, symbolizes the continuity of natural cycles. The works therefore establish a dialog that suggests a flow between darkness and clarity, between the tangible and the intangible. The abstraction in Marina Caverzan’s works is projected into the three-dimensional, with forms that detach from the plane and occupy space, transforming light into sculptural material.
Luminous Bodies is an invitation for the viewer to cross boundaries and experience new forms of perception. The words of Isabelle Stengers with which I began the text seem to resonate here: Caverzan uses abstraction to go beyond pure form, rescuing its spiritual and symbolic potential and bringing to light what often remains hidden or marginalized. His works don’t just occupy physical space; they create passageways to alternative dimensions of feeling, suggesting an expanded reality. By provoking introspection and challenging the gaze, the artist leads the public to explore the subtleties between the visible and the invisible, the material and the immaterial, turning the very act of seeing into a practice of fabrication, capable of continually reimagining the experience of the world.
- STENGERS, Isabelle. La vierge et le neutrino. Média Diffusion, 2015. ↩︎
